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Carolyn Cross said Friday she owes her life to the heroic efforts of two pilots and a countless number of people who helped after the crash

Carolyn Cross, CEO of Ondine Biomendical Inc., holds up light-activated Photodynamic Disinfection equipment, Vancouver, April 20 2011. She was a passenger on a plane that crashed and burst into flames at Vancouver International Airport on Thursday evening.

Photograph by: PNG files
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Exclusive video with Carolyn Cross's terrifying account.

METRO VANCOUVER -- Carolyn Cross said Friday she owes her life to the heroic efforts of two pilots and a countless number of people after the small chartered aircraft she was a passenger in crashed and burst into flames at Vancouver International Airport on Thursday evening.

Cross said that almost as soon as pilot Luc Fortin told the seven passengers in the Thunderbird Air plane that he was turning back from a trip to Kelowna and returning to Vancouver because of an oil leak, she knew they were all going to die.

So she started writing a text message to her children on her iPhone, and seconds before the aircraft crashed on Russ Baker way she hit the "send" button.

"I looked at [Fortin's} hands and they were shaking, trembling, and at that moment I knew we were going to die," she said Friday in a telephone interview from Vancouver General Hospital.

"I calmly take out my iPhone and I start composing letters to my children. And it's an interesting thing that when you are very certain that you are going to die, you are in a moment of peace."

Fortin died of his injuries late Thursday. His co-pilot Mike Robic is still in critical condition, as is one passenger. Four other passengers, including Cross, are listed in serious but stable condition. Two other passengers, including Tony Zanatta of White Rock, have been discharged.

Two of the passengers in hospital have been identified by family members as Lorelei and Cameron Sobolik. Cameron Sobolik is the president of Vancouver-based Teligence, which owns a voice-enabled social network.

Cross, the CEO of a Vancouver biomedical company, said no one else in the passenger area realized what was going on until just before the crash.

"Halfway to our trip to Kelowna the pilot turns over to our group and says he's heading back to Vancouver because there is a small leak on the left side of the engine. I think he said a small oil leak and that it needs checking out and that he's sorry but it shouldn't take that long to get back.

He did so in a manner that made the guys in the back say "ahh, why don't we just continue to Kelowna if we are half way."

Cross said the pilots appeared to try and gain altitude on the way back to YVR so that they could coast to the runway. They didn't make it.

"They were doing such a good job, they got so close. I mean, 900 metres away. Just prior to the point of collision we were listening to the bad sound of landing gear not going down. "Clearly something was wrong there and the pilots shot each other a look and I knew that they were not going to make it despite a gallant effort.

"Then, I looked down to see if my cell phone was in service. I wanted to make sure my kids would get my letter and it did go, so I was at peace.

She said at the very end, something went horribly wrong.

"Suddenly, the pilots were yanking very hard to the left in a very awkward way and I went from looking at the runway to looking at the highway and we were going down into it and that's when the rest of the crew knew.

"We crashed and I immediately looked outside because I was at a door window and it was full of flames outside. So I couldn't go out. It smelled full of gasoline. I heard the sound of the other group popping out the back door and then they left and I knew I had to get out because the people in front of me were obstructed by my presence and my funny angle."

Cross said she had jarred her legs so severely that she couldn't walk.

"I went to get up and I could not walk. It was as if I had no legs, as if they were blown off. And I thought of my children, and God and the universe gave me the energy and I got up to the door. I said I don't know what I am going to do now because I can't get out of the plane, my legs, I can't get out of the plane.

"There were four people that pulled me out and carried me to safety even though the plane was in flames. It smelled of gas. And then they went back for more. And people were shouting "the plane's going to blow, it's full of gas, we smell gas" but they went back in. It was amazing.

"I laid in bed last night understanding how lucky I am and that I am alive because of these people. I want them to know how brave they were."

The aircraft had been chartered as a private rental by an executive group that had business in Kelowna.

Zanatta was injured but was later released and sent home. His wife Leanne said she didn't know the name of the group that had rented the aircraft but the passengers all knew each other.

"It was part of a business organization. It was a private rental," she said. "He's home. He can't talk right now. He's on some pretty major pain-killers, so we're all trying to regroup as a family."

Ian MacLeod, Teligence's general counsel, said the Soboliks were part of a group of business professionals who were going to Kelowna to participate in an "executive forum." No other passengers on board were employees of Teligence, a private company, but they all knew each other through a business association, MacLeod said.

He didn't know the extent of the Soboliks' injuries but was keeping in contact with family members.

"We just want Lorelei and Cameron to have as little injury as possible and to get back on their feet as soon as possible."

MacLeod said Teligence's senior management team is now trying to wrestle with the temporary loss of their president and will likely appoint a transition team until he is able to return to work.

"I can tell you that we didn't charter the plane and he wasn't on Teligence business. The group knew each other. They were travelling to an executive forum in Kelowna," he said.

"I don't think they are in any risk to their lives, but I don't know if he is gone for three months or longer. I think when you lose your senior leadership it has a very big effect. It is going to be a big challenge."

Carolyn Cross, CEO of Ondine Biomendical Inc., holds up light-activated Photodynamic Disinfection equipment, Vancouver, April 20 2011. She was a passenger on a plane that crashed and burst into flames at Vancouver International Airport on Thursday evening.

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